The Gift of Giving: A Look at the Best Gifts We've Given

credit: Lindsay Ladwig (Flickr)

By Ashley Parsons, Associate Editor

As cheesy as it sounds, giving really can be as nice as receiving. Here at eFlirt Expert, we take our gift giving very seriously. Last year, we put together a group post about the best gifts we've gotten for the holidays, but this year, we're talking about the best gifts we've given.

"I don’t have any lavish stories of a significant other giving me any diamond ring, or some memorabilia that touched my heart. In fact, I’m the sad one in the bunch that has never had a significant other purchase me a Christmas gift, but I do have a sappy story of my own. Last 
Christmas, my dad asked my two younger brothers what they wanted to give their sister (me!) for Christmas. My brothers waited two weeks to tell him that they wanted to make a video. On Christmas morning, I woke up to a three-minute long YouTube video of my brothers naming all 
the reasons their big sister was the best. I cried, and that’s probably the most sincere and thoughtful Christmas gift I've ever gotten." 
—Amanda Rodriguez, Copy Cutie

"It was my freshman year of college, and I was BROKE. I had been seeing this guy all semester, and I was determined to give him the best gift ever. His and my taste in music could not have been more different, but that was one of the best things about our relationship because each of us was constantly trying to introduce the other to their next favorite band. He had this old, busted pick-up that he drove around as though it were a Lamborghini. He lived a few hours away from school and had a long drive home for winter break, so I decided to make him the best mix cd ever. The only problem was that his pick-up only had a tape deck. I dug out my mom's old cassette recorder and, with a little help from my laptop, made him a good, old-fashioned mix-tape. He was psyched. I felt even better about it because his roommate was totally jealous."
—Ashley Parsons, Associate Editor

 “I've always been the less creative type of gift giver and more like the tell-me-exactly-what-you’d-like-for-the-holidays gift giver; still an awesome gift giver, just not an imaginative one. That changed quite quickly after my long-distance relationship. When I mean long, I mean Israel-to-NYC long, 13-hour-flight long, six-hour-behind long. He was totally different than anyone I’ve ever dated, which totally made me want to put a surprise element into giving the gift instead of him telling me 
what exactly he wanted. Maybe because he was part of the Israeli army at that time, I wanted to 
give him something special, something bright, something shiny to sparkle in the rough Middle 
Eastern desert. That’s what I did: took myself to Tiffany’s (not owning anything from there 
myself) but wanting him to have the best of the best. That’s what love is all about, right? I bought
him a bracelet. I thought a dog-tag would fit his surroundings at that time, so I felt going a different 
route would be better. The bracelet was engraved with a quote I’d always consider corny, but it 
felt right: “Always holding your hand.” It totally worked. He loved it and still wears it (we’re best 
friends even though we are no longer together), and it was definitely a gift worth giving!”
– Daniella Sokolovsky, eFlirt Rookie

“Thomas, my fiancé, and I were long distance for the first year we were dating. Though we had only been dating for a few months come Christmas, our flirtations had happened over an extended period of time (both online and off), so we were pretty serious. We actually had “the talk” about being exclusive with one another before we even had our first kiss! When Christmas came around, I wanted Thomas’ gift to be something that spoke forhow special our relationship was. I gave him a stocking filled with all of the goodies I knew he’d enjoy most, including two tickets to Owl City, a band we often listened to when driving around Boston together. The concert was a 
major #fail – we were basically the only two adults in a sea of teeny boppers – but knowing that we could have fun no matter what was one of the first moments I just knew he was The One. But the big surprise was down at the bottom of the stocking – a ring box that contained the key to my apartment. I told him that though there was physical distance between us, that’s not how I viewed our relationship: I wanted him to be part of my life any day and every day. He used that key a lot throughout the year and the following winter, he moved to NYC and we exchanged keys to our brand new lease on a life together.
– Laurie Davis, Founder

Happy Holidays from all of us at eFlirt Expert! What was the best gift you’ve ever given your honey for the holidays? Let us know in a comment!